Amusement parks and theme parks presently operate a variety of rides for the amusement and exhilaration of their patrons. One type of ride includes a number of individual passenger cars, each holding a relatively small number of passengers, that travel along a ride course. During the course of the ride, and depending on the type of ride, passengers can expect to encounter many startling and/or entertaining settings. Various special effects may be employed to recreate rain, fire, smoke, fog, explosions, illusions, etc. Animated characters may be used to add to the reality or fantasy of the environment.
Typically for such rides, the rotation of the passenger car, if any, and the direction the passenger car faces throughout the ride course are predetermined such that the passengers in one passenger car receive the same or similar experience as passengers in other passenger cars. In some situations, however, it may be desirable to permit the passenger to change the direction the passenger car faces or to even spin the passenger car as it travels through the varied settings of the ride course. Most amusement rides do not permit this.
In view of the above, it should be appreciated that there is a need for an amusement ride that safely permits the passengers to control the direction the passenger car faces as the passenger car travels along the ride course and to control the speed at which the passenger car turns from one direction to another. Such a ride would significantly add to the excitement of the ride experience because the passengers would have a direct influence on the manner in which the various settings along the course are encountered and would also add a dimension of uncertainty as the passengers are free to experiment with various speeds and abrupt changes of direction at any selected location along the ride course.
For rides having passenger cars with spinning capability, whether passenger operable or not, it is often desirable that the passenger cars be placed in a preferred orientation (i.e., an "indexed position") at the completion of the ride to permit the passengers to easily disembark at an unloading station. There is, therefore, a need for an indexing mechanism that will stop the passenger car from spinning and turn it from any of its varied positions to the preferred indexed position. Such an indexing mechanism should also turn the passenger car to the indexed position as quickly as possible, yet not subject the passengers to too fast a turn.
Lap bars are a desired safety feature for passenger cars that spin or that are subjected to relatively high speeds or rapid acceleration or deceleration along the ride course. Lap bars, however, are often uncomfortable to the passengers, are not readily adjustable and require the ride operator's attention to lock them in place or to release them. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved lap bar that is self-acting and easily adjustable.
In many amusement rides, the passenger car is supported above a show floor by a support shaft that is mounted to a chassis that travels along the ride course. In such instances, a slot is required through the show floor for passage of the support shaft. A problem with the slot, however, is that it presents a trip hazard for patrons. Accordingly, there is a need for a device to cover the slot, which is strong enough to support a person, yet able to be readily moved out of the way as the support shaft travels through the slot.
It is also desirable that, during the course of the amusement ride, the passenger car and/or the chassis supporting the passenger car be capable of turning sharp corners. In a typical straight-sided chassis, however, the "chordal effect" requires additional clearance envelope on the inside of each curve. This results in less design freedom in laying out the ride course and, in the case of a show floor having a slot for the passenger cars, requires a fortified cantilever structure for supporting the show floor. Therefore, there is also a need for a chassis design that defines a smaller clearance envelope.
The present invention satisfies the above needs.